Posted 3 years ago on Feb. 10, 2012, 1:40 a.m. EST by therising
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Fracking. Google wiki fracking environmental concerns.

Man - this is serious. This has crossed some line in the sand for me. This has gone from underhanded to blatant. This fracking thing is so damn bad and evil and outrageous that if you put it in a draft of storyline of novel, you're editor would say "too unrealistic".

What the #%^*&&$ are you people thinking in Pennsylvania and New York??? The people who actually own the land the frackers use get a little money. They can buy brand new trucks and put an addition on the house maybe. It's no windfall by any means. And the taxpayers get a pittance if anything. Jobs are created but most are people from outside your area. You can sell them hot dogs and groceries and beer but that ain't gonna make up for your water being poisoned. So hardly any reward personally or for taxpayers. No upside really.

Usually the evil and corruption is more hidden. This time it's right out in the open. The governors in some cases are coming right out and saying they're for fracking! They're being blatantly bankrolled by corporations and their lobbyists that benefit from this. This is cartoon-like.

And yet the people of the northeast for the most part are just shrugging their shoulders when they should be marching in the streets. People - this is your damn water supply. Your kids drink this!!! The fracking process has caused EARTHQUAKES in places that never had themfor crying out loud (numerous respected scientists have confirmed this).

What the $&@$&@ is it going to take for citizens to wake the $@@&&% up and take to the streets????? I mean, REALLY!!!! This is absurd. This is becoming a cartoon of a country rather than an actual country.

I mean, look at this people!!!! Look at what this is doing to you. Look at the quality of the sources of research. MIT. Columbia University. Duke University. Look at this Wikipedia layout of the environmental factors. Then run to your window, open it and start shouting: "I'M MAD AS HELL AND I'M NOT GOING TO TAKE IT ANY MORE!!!!!". For crying out loud, your governors are getting money directly inserted into their campaigns from these huge corporations and are selling out the future of your state. Wake the $&@%€ up!!!! http://en.m.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Hydraulic_fracturing&mobileaction=view_normal_site#Environmental_concerns

Man, if these politicians and industry folks tried to get away
with this out here in a progressive town in the west, they'd be quickly experiencing overwhelming response in the form of massive nonviolent protest at the doorstep of their offices. Why you folks in the northeast are rolling over for this is beyond me. Don't you care about your kids and grand kids?

I feel like we humans have crossed some line here where our instinct for survival isn't kicking in. Need to perform CPR or use defibrillator or something.....some form of nonviolent direct action to stir the souls of this generation for the benefit of those that will follow.

Please see excellent documentary "GASLAND" to learn what we can do about this.

The Big Fracking Bubble: The Scam Behind the Gas Boom.
It’s not only toxic – it’s driven by a right-wing billionaire who profits more from flipping land than drilling for gas.

Aubrey McClendon, America’s second-largest producer of natural gas, has never been afraid of a fight. He has become a billionaire by directing his company, Chesapeake Energy, to blast apart gas-soaked rocks a mile underground and pump the fuel to the surface. “We’re the biggest frackers in the world,” he declares proudly over a $400 bottle of French Bordeaux at a restaurant he co-owns in his hometown of Oklahoma City. “We frack all the time. What’s the big deal?”

McClendon dominates America’s supply of natural gas the same way the Tea Party-financing Koch brothers control the nation’s pipelines and refineries. Like them, McClendon is an influential right-wing power broker – he helped fund the Swift Boat attacks against John Kerry in 2004, donated $250,000 to the presidential campaign of Rick Perry, and contributed more than $500,000 to stop gay marriage. But unlike his fellow energy czars, McClendon knows how to tone down his politics and present a friendlier, less ideological face to the public. He secretly gave $26 million to the Sierra Club to fight Big Coal, and built a Google-like campus for Chesapeake’s 4,600 employees in Oklahoma City, complete with a 63,000-square-foot day care center, a luxurious gym and four cafes manned by cook-to-order chefs. He even voted for Barack Obama because he thought the country needed “an inspirational figure.”…..

He sips his Bordeaux; his own private wine cellar once boasted more than 10,000 bottles. It’s a good riff, with some truth to it. But what McClendon leaves out is the real nature of the business he’s in. Fracking, it turns out, is about producing cheap energy the same way the mortgage crisis was about helping realize the dreams of middle-class homeowners. For Chesapeake, the primary profit in fracking comes not from selling the gas itself, but from buying and flipping the land that contains the gas. The company is now the largest leaseholder in the United States, owning the drilling rights to some 15 million acres – an area more than twice the size of Maryland. McClendon has financed this land grab with junk bonds and complex partnerships and future production deals, creating a highly leveraged, deeply indebted company that has more in common with Enron than ExxonMobil. As McClendon put it in a conference call with Wall Street analysts a few years ago, “I can assure you that buying leases for x and selling them for 5x or 10x is a lot more profitable than trying to produce gas at $5 or $6 per million cubic feet.”

There's only two reasons I'm here. One of them is E-X-P-O-S-I-N-G, by name, the .01% ruling elite...the oligarchs who think they can make decisions about the lives of everyday people. These people are the reason behind EVERYTHING that has contributed to the global crisis that we see unfolding now. The more people who see "who" is responsible for the criminality, the better. Once these lunatics see that we are aware of who they are, there will be nowhere they can hide any more. When I write posts that name these people, I get attacked. That is a sure sign that the oligarchs are scared of being personally identified and also being protected on this site.

Peacefulness. There are several areas here, like promoting non-violence. Also, promoting healthy alternatives to the world's people, that are in direct conflict with the markets that the ruling elite control to make money at our expense, such as suppressed energies, suppressed and false information about global environment and the solutions. Alternative currencies is another good area. I like the idea of bringing food growing to the community level so we can take care of ourselves and our neighbors as well. We've blindly allowed the oligarchs to monopolise every area of our lives, with the faith and belief that they have our best interests at heart. Nothing could be farther from the truth. We need to take the responsibility back and take care of ourselves so no-one will ever have us over a barrel again. These are just a few things. This area is HUGE. What I don't understand, is why people don't see just HOW MUCH MONEY could be made by doing it the healthy way. The jobs are endless...we just need to get the desire back to take care of ourselves and our communities and our resources. As it stands, our resources are being sold off to the highest bidder and will be controlled into oblivion. Paul Hawken is one of my favorite healthy business activists, he is world renowned and knows how it should be done. "Blessed Unrest" is his latest project.

Fantastic. I think you're right on target. And I especially agree on this: "What I don't understand, is why people don't see just HOW MUCH MONEY could be made by doing it the healthy way. The jobs are endless...we just need to get the desire back to take care of ourselves and our communities and our resources."

Amen..not that I'm religious or anything. I have a pretty good idea for who they are, but for obvious reasons can't put it out there. We just have to keep fighting the good fight. Eventually the infiltrators and subverters inadvertantly expose themselves when their arguments become silly in the face of the facts.

I saw a headline the other day about the govt working on some rules to require that these folks disclose the chemicals they are pumping into the ground as a part of the process. That raised my eyebrows. NO ONE KNOWS what they are doing????? I would have thought couldn't be legal, but I was wrong. Saw a pbs thing a long time ago about what it did to folks out west. Til the Ohio earthquake caused by fracking, had no idea it was going on out east. It's a serious issue, but not something ows will embrace, I am sure. People need to be aware of this and write their politicians.

Government forcing fracking chemicals to be disclosed may not help much if people do not realize what they can do. Antifreeze's main ingredient, ethylene glycol, is metabolized to oxalate which combines with calcium to give people KIDNEY FAILURE over the long term. Methanol, a.k.a. wood alcohol, is toxic to retina and can make people BLIND. When people's children and grandchildren need to go on dialysis or become blind, will they remember where THAT could have come from? There are safer alternatives but corporations would rather maximize their profits. The idea is that over the long term with low-enough level of exposure, nobody would be able to establish the causal link of blindness and kidney failures. Besides, if lawsuits were filed, they could be settled out of court with no admission of guilt (to keep the wrap on culpability) or they would be fought against with corporate fundings enough to dissuade the claimants from continuing the lawsuits. All of this presumes that someone would actually figure this out and take action which is a big IF. Even if the lawsuits came to trial, there would be almost no chance that after decades anyone could prove the cases beyond reasonable doubts or have a preponderance of evidence.

safer chemicals isn't the only concern. When oil and natural gas are forced out of the rock ( which has been fractured ) what stops it from getting into the aquifer and contaminating drinking water? Even if they were using Evian to frack with wouldn't stop all contamination.

Very true indeed. Oil and gas companies should have the common sense not to frack near aquifers. Strict environmental laws that require them to buy up all homeowners' properties affected by fracking contamination at pre-fracking market prices plus a stiff penalty can deter potential bad behaviors. As long as we do not get off of oil and gas, we will continue to have the associated contamination. The only thing that I have come across that is nearly contamination free is to concentrate sunlight to produce electricity. Sunlight is available widely in the world, especially in the POORER parts near the equator. It is VERY powerful if you compute the power that is available in it. The trick is really how to concentrate it and improve conversion efficiency to electricity.

Read the label on the antifreeze solution that you put into your car - ethylene glycol is listed as a major ingredient. There is also a warning note about not having pets lick spills of antifreeze on the driveway because they can die from that. The reason is that ethylene glycol when metabolized in the body creates oxalate that combines with the ubiquitous calcium in the body to form insoluble grains that cause kidney failure. People have been murdered by their spouses with antifreeze-laced drinks. Methanol is cheap relative to ethanol but methanol can cause blindness through its effect on the retinas in the eyes. Alcoholics running out of money were known to drink methanol (a.k.a. wood alcohol) to get drunk because it is chemically similar to ethanol (a.k.a. grain alcohol) and can get people drunk just as well. Ethanol is more expensive but does not damage the retinas as methanol does. Excessive consumption of ethanol can lead to liver damage and eventually cirrhosis but I do not think that leakage into drinking water will ever reach that high a level.

Nominally for us, actually for themselves. The old idea of public service is now very much out of fashion in political circles. It is partly our own fault due to our inattention and failure to inculcate in our youngsters that serving the public through politics can be an honorable calling. We tended to be tweaked emotionally by some unethical corporations through the media and political entities to behave in ways that serve their interests, not ours. The really sad thing is how emotional some people would be advocating against their own interests and defending some elites' nefarious ways.

Since both sides take their money from the same people; I contend that their objectives are aligned. Why would one side represent their donors, and the other side not? The side that didn't, wouldn't get much money, would they? But both sides do. Neither party represents the people. Actions speak louder that words. They're just playing good cop, bad cop for our entertainment. It also perpetuates our division that weakens us.

I understand what you're saying ..... and it's true, but I can't continue to do the same thing over & over (voting for D's) and expect a different result. They've shown their hand through NDAA, bush tax cuts extensions, continuation of the bush doctrine (kill them before they kill us), 30,000 drones over US; perpetuating wars, the murdering of American citizens because the president labeled them as terrorists without being charged or tried in court, hacking up our civil rights, etc. ........................

It will be 3rd party or write-in for me. I have to live with myself after the vote. I'm still beating myself up for contributing to (for the first time) and voting for Barry.

“Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result”
~ Albert Einstein ~

I've been waiting since the 70's for the D's to help out the middle class - and it's driving me insane! It really pissed me off when the D's had the house, senate and WH; and still extended the bush tax cuts for 2 more yrs. Cheers

I just re-read your post because Nevada1 replied to me. Those chemicals are ALREADY considered "organic" substances in scientific circles, in the same category as corn starch. "Organic" is a bad terminology because I can see that much confusion in our discourses is due to terminologies that mean DIFFERENT things in different CONTEXTS. It is NO wonder that we are still fighting battles over evolution, abortion, God, etc. I just hope that more people have their feet in various camps (scientific, legal, political, philosophical, etc.) so that we can stop much confusion. Fracking is not the only way for gas extraction but it opens up new gas supplies, some in sensitive areas for human health.

I am in favor of replacing ethylene glycol and methanol with ethanol. Ethanol which we are already producing in abundance for car fuels can work as an antifreeze and is not toxic to retina. The worst effect of its leaking into drinking water in small quantities is that some people may get a little bit high. In fact, those homes with ethanol-enhanced drinking water can become attractive to winos. Many other materials can also serve as antifreeze, too.

My statement IS psychedelic in intention. Imitation wine can certainly break through to your house if given a chance because fracking is not a very well-controlled process. Who can really predict where the shale rocks will break up? Look at the bright side and enjoy the freebies if they show up. Those people in your video seem very blissful and content. Do we not all want to end up like that, especially with neighbors lusting for the fracking dollars?

life is dangerous, life is real. The elimination of BP catastrophe was artificially postponed which brought us what we had seen. But what matters is political side. No drilling in ocean and New executive director of British Petroleum since then is american. Nuces are Bad, MK. Whatever men. im gona post it anyway . http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=-SA7sD4A25c#!

The scientists work for the financial and management types who know how to increase the next-quarter's profits through many different ways such as using CHEAPER fracking chemicals and financial shell games that strictly speaking are NOT ILLEGAL but if viewed from the social-good perspective is extremely questionable because they are sometimes carried out to the nth degree and the ill effects explode into the public domain. It is somewhat like using steroids for bulging up the financial statements. There are countries headed by scientists or engineers which can get things done better without as many "unintended" blowouts because financial statements SIMULATE reality but are NOT reality but scientists or engineers tend to deal with the real world where fudging data or playing tricks (unless they are in the soft social realm) often fail. Worst countries are those headed by people of "faith" who can BELIEVE in falsehoods even under the preponderance of evidence or beyond reasonable doubts.

Dammit New Yorkers and Pennsylvanians..... What the $&@#%^. Are you doing letting industry write the laws to protect you. Your fathers an grandfathers fished these streams. Your children play in them and drink from this watershed. And you're going to let Exxon, Halliburton, Baker Hughes Chesapeake Energy and others tell you all is well when they're pull profits out and leaving you with nothing but destruction. In the part of the country I'm from, we'd NEVER let corporations decide what's best for our kids and grand kids and their kids. What the hell is wrong with you people. Why are you letting 100 lawyers for 5 oil and gas companies decide the fate of future generations. When are you letting the fox guard the henhouse.

I've chimed in with my thoughts on this issue in other threads in this forum, so I'll not bore anyone with redundancy. Just suffice to say that this method of natural gas extraction needs to be stopped.

I am seriously pissed off. What the hell is wrong with these people who continue to drill when the impact is unknown and likely terrible. It's time for New Yorkers, Pennsylvanians and Americans in general to rise up and say ENOUGH IS ENOUGH. WE'VE HAD IT. WE'RE NOT TAKING THIS SHIT ANYMORE!

I wish I were more of an activist. As it stands I'm able to sign petitions, donate at times, and call my representative's phone secretaries. But If you're really that angry give people links to petitions or green groups. My contribution today will be the White House comment line: 202 456-1111

It shocks me that people in the northeast are allowing their state legislatures to get away with poisoning their own rivers, lakes, streams and wells while at the same time getting little or no revenue for their state or individuals. Instead, huge oil companies pollute the ground and leave the state or country with the profits.

This has to be one of the most ridiculous things people have allowed to happen to them in the U.S. in a long long time. A real travesty.

In some western towns, the politicians involved in a ruse like this would have experienced numerous nonviolent protests at the doorsteps of their offices. They would have felt the nonviolent power of the people who care about their kids and their grand kids and their state.

I hear you. And I think the fact that Americans watch an average of 4 hours of TV a day or more probably plays a serious role here. I just had it in my head that underneath all that there would be a survival mechanism / bullshit detector that would kick in and make human beings FEEL LIKE PUSHING BACK........... nonviolently.

I'm with you!! The only way to overcome the oligarchs is to return power to the people through a Direct Democracy. Inaction of the people, over time, has allowed this mess to perpetuate; and inaction today will ensure our destruction.

“If once the people become inattentive to the public affairs, you and I, and Congress and Assemblies, Judges and Governors, shall all become wolves. It seems to be the law of our general nature, in spite of individual exceptions.”
~Thomas Jefferson~

Congress exempted frackers in 2005 from regulation under the Safe Drinking Water Act. This exemption must be reversed. If fracking is safe as the frackers say, then they should not have a problem with again being under regulation of the Safe Drinking Water Act.

Probably works both ways. Frackers worked in secret for so long, and built up much momentum. Likely, many more wells have been drilled & fracked. It is all about getting momentum up against fracking, with spreading of awareness. And yes, awareness is growing.

Vermont banned fracking. Quebec banned fracking. Key battle ground is NY, as we wait for Cuomo's decision. Movements against fracking growing in many states and other countries. Many are angry about frackers preparing to sell LNG overseas (so much for US energy independence, sustainable resource and lower energy bills---just poisoned land & water/'Sacrafice Zones').

Welcome to the real world. This is how predatory capitalism works. The real problem is that most people won't do anything until it's punching them in the face and then it's too late. That's the problem with our whole country. too many people are sleeping. We need a new vision for American and a plan to make it happen.

"WAKE UP PEOPLE!” - JOIN THE REVOLUTION
Protesting is not enough. There is a better way to fight back.
Read “Common Sense 3.1” at ( http://www.revolution2.osixs.org ) – “entirely”

Used to own stock in Baker Hughes. At that time was known as hughes tool.Did well by it. Very good company back when .Was able to buy my first gas guzzler because of them.Think I paid around seventy cents a gallon at Exxon.Glad I was young then.Must suck to be young now knowing that the world is S-it and you can't do much for it.Most people don't give a good crap what happens as long as they can watch biggest loser.

I completely disagree. There is a lot we can do about it and most people care. That's the beauty of the Occupy movement; millions of people who care are growing
more and more connected and that connection can't be broken now. Nothing is so powerful as an idea whose time has come.

Out west, we have our own issues but we would never allow industry to blatantly pollute our communities and states and then get little or no revenue. Why should Halliburton and Exxon walk away with profits after ruining environment for us and our kids? We're talking about safe drinking water and earthquakes here folks.

And the water around it - above and below ground polluting the aqua-fir truly spreads the poison far and wide. Depending on the type of mining it also pollutes the air and so the land and surface water further away.

Agreement. We have to get on this. Financial solvancy (especially for a sovereign nation) is a silly, petty and inconsequential concern in comparison to the long-term destruction of the ressources essential to human life. Our grand-kids might think their old men were somewhat irresponsible rapscallions if we leave them burdened with debt. They will curse and swear off our names if we leave them with no fucking drinking water.

The blind nationalism of Americans makes it very difficult for the majority of them to think their government would ever allow anything like this to happen. They think they are the most beloved and protected citizens on earth when this is just not the case. Also, this hasn't been in the mainstream media very much. Thanks for shedding light on it here, therising, something needs to be done, fast.

Totally agree. I don't know why I have such a visceral reaction to this when I don't even live there. I suppose I just feel like we humans have crossed some line here where our instinct for survival isn't kicking in. Need to perform CPR or use defibrillator or something.....some form of nonviolent direct action to stir the souls of this generation for the benefit of those that will follow.

I know what you mean. It's like humanity has completely lost its way. I was reading somewhere about how some businesspeople are arguing for the privatization of water. There's money to be made there, you know, and that is all that matters to them. Can you believe that? What kind of deleterious effects to mankind would the commoditization of the water supply have? Good grief.

I read that a large fraction (perhaps up to 40%) of bottled water sold in the U.S. came from New York City tap water. When that IS polluted with fracking fluids from upstate, we will all see how long that market will persist. Perhaps people who have been buying bottled water did not really know or care where that water came from. Currently contamination of the drinking water of New York City is legal for fracking fluids because in 2005 the regulation of the water's contamination by fracking fluids was exempted from EPA's jurisdiction under the Safe Drinking Water Act.

I am also surprised that Mexico is a top consumer country of bottled water. Why is that? Can they drink their own public water supply? If not, is it because their government cannot supply clean or sufficient water? Bottled water is more expensive than gasoline here in the U.S. Is that the reason why Mexicans stay poor, having to buy expensive bottled water to survive with little left over for everything else?

We drink water right out of our taps here in the U.S. Do you mean that in South America and perhaps Mexico, the governments or water utilities cannot achieve disinfection of the drinking water to the same cleanliness level, perhaps through chlorination?

I surely count having drinking water right out of my taps as my blessing for living in the U.S. I want to keep it that way. I hate to pay for drinking water near gasoline prices, not to mention the inconvenience. Unfortunately, we may be moving to be more like South America or Mexico and Europe. How sad!

Only if we let it happen. Education of the population is happening. It is not happening by MSM but by grassroots efforts on the internet and elsewhere. More people are becoming involved in one way or another. This must continue. Advocate for a better world, advocate to take positive and peaceful action. The battle against corruption/greed grows.

To make up for the fact that rapid tar sands oil mining is threatening caribou herds by destroying vast swaths of forest habitat in Alberta, the Canadian government has called for killing thousands of wolves.1

If Alberta Canada's tar sands oil fields are fully developed, an area of boreal rainforest the size of Florida will be eviscerated, leaving in its wake giant ponds of toxic wastewater.2

It's obvious why this would pose a massive threat to all wildlife species who reside there, including birds, wolves, woodland caribou and the iconic spirit bear.

But instead of preserving the habitat caribou need for their survival, the Canadian government's answer is to blaze ahead with tar sands oil extraction, and kill thousands of wolves who would naturally prey on the caribou. A paper released this week by the National Wildlife Federation reports that The Ministry of the Environment's plan calls for aerial shooting, and poisoning with bait laced with strychnine — a particularly painful type of poison.

This plan to kill wolves is a misguided, cruel response that does nothing to alleviate the greater problem: tar sands oil extraction is a huge threat to wildlife, local communities, and all of our futures.

But despite the clear negative consequences, the Canadian government continues working to rapidly expand tar sands production and sales, including promoting the Keystone XL Pipeline to export tar sands oil all over the world.

Understandably, this has begun to earn Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, and many in the country's government, a negative reputation to which they are becoming increasingly sensitive.3

The Ministry of the Environment has not yet begun this planned wolf kill. With enough public pressure, we can get them to abandon the plan, and build the case for Canada to stop their devastating race to expand tar sands oil development.

I agree wholeheartedly. I suppose the corollary here is "the bigger the lie, the more people believe it." The defense of the lie is "Are you serious? You're saying something this big is false? It's here weight is used as evidence for its truth. The big lie. Man is it big.

You understood my meaning completely. Fiction as an art form, in order to remain relevent, has to keep up with the nature of the times, and the times have become so beastial that in order to shine a light on their beastiality fiction must dig into the terrible heart of mankind, that part of us rooted in the horrible fear and terror of existance that faces the world without security, in the face of collosal uncertainty.

Fiction must discard the falicies that lay in the outdated and established norms of a stable civilization and confront the realities of a decaying civilization. It must reach into the void, to grapple with what is at the root of our collective human demons, because those demons are now in the ascendency. This takes us into uncharted waters but it is the only way that fiction, as an art, can remain relevent.

PS If you do this ( and this is all that is worth doing in fiction ) expect to self-publish. The mainstream publishers won't touch it.

My sense is that the nation can awaken to the destruction fracking is causing and will cause if it is allowed to continue. These diggers need to be stopped. We as a nation need to put our time, money and energy into develop alternative energy sources.

I heard on the radio while driving in upstate NY that some communities are already rejecting this practice, also when taken to court the communities won against the oil companies.
of course they are appealing the ruling, we'll see what happens.
At least it is a good thing to see there is still at least one judge left with common sense.

Agree. We do most of our driving with an old car that averages 35mpg, and drive as little as possible. Winter house temp. about 52F. Have some solar panels to install soon. Thinking about wind generator. Some neighbors near by off the grid, seem to be doing well. State of NV installed extensive solar system at state facilities. Big solar farm near Vegas. New Fire house nearby has large solar system. Geothermal power plants also. Technology improvements will come. We can make a difference. DKA made some good points.

Its not just that they want to keep fossil fuel - it is that they already control it - and all they need do now is sustain it and their un-Godly profits. Much less expensive in their minds to continue on down the same road.

This greed is blind in that it does not look down the road to scarcity of resource or the destruction of the environment ( life ).

The biggest problem is it seems there is no solid evidence that any gas or toxins have entered any drinking water that can be directly linking it to fracking. All that exists is theory and guessing. Until something solid is produced, I don't think much will change.

That's funny. Because the way you state this I thought you were going to say that they shouldn't drill giant holes in the earth and spray millions of gallons of chemicals down these holes until they know it's safe. Instead you implied that until someone can show its dangerous, it should be allowed. If that's really the way you feel then you must be legally insane or extremely high on crack. Who would run a country or community that way.

That media blackout is just amazing. Can you explain to me how that works? Is it just cultural with reporters that they don't investigate? Or is it that they get stonewalled and can't get the story? Or is it a smoke filled room thing where the editor gets a ca from a board member of some important corporation?

OWH supporters...This is all part ot the future of the Occupy movement. We now shall move closer to the gates of the White House. We are preparing for this move as a write as our lawyers are regaining our property, and freeing the few brothers and sisters that were detained. OWH is now in full swing. We now tell this President and illegal congress that they are only guests in our house and we evict them. This is our message going forward. This is the world and direction of the GA DC...Occupy the White House Now!!!

Then how the hell did these laws pass the state houses in New York and Pennsylvania without there being an enormous nonviolent protest surrounding the buildings? This is these people's drinking water for crying out loud!! This drilling is causing EARTHQUAKES!!!!! What the hell do these environmental terrorists like Exxon and Halliburton have to do to get New Yorkers and Pennsylvanians to react? How bad does it have to get people?????

Amazing stuff at this link of yours. I was particularly shocked by this: " In 2005 Congress – at the behest of then Vice President Dick Cheney, a former CEO of gas driller Halliburton – exempted fracking from regulation under the Safe Drinking Water Act."

I agree that "Congress needs to close this so-called ‘Halliburton loophole’, as a bill co-sponsored by New York State Representative Maurice Hinchey would do. The FRAC Act would also mandate public disclosure of all chemicals used in fracking across the nation.”

We should not be exporting period. The complaint that we are always given about the high price of gas and natural gas and oil is that our supplies are so low. Is this not why new regions were opened to access more oil and natural gas deposits? Stop lying to us. Shut down fracking shutdown new drilling. Regulate the industry and put a cap on the prices. Tax the industry properly and put the money to work creating and implementing true green energy not bio-fuel.

From the Sierra club ( please take part ):

We need to tell President Obama that exporting dirty LNG is dangerous, environmentally destructive, and unacceptable. Sign our petition urging the president to put the brakes on LNG exports.

Many of you have done this already with Reps. Marino and Posey. It's had an effect. In fact, we know it's been a positive motivator for Rep. Marino to seek additional publicity for OSTA and to recruit his colleagues.

STEP TWO: Call and say thank you for sponsoring the "One Subject at a Time Act", and suggest that they send a "Dear Colleague" letter asking other members of Congress to also co-sponsor "One Subject."

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A virtuous cycle of awakening, action, unity, tension, awareness, nonviolent direct action and the feeling that comes from feeling the wind in our hair as this thing snowballs, .... The momentum rising like a high high tide to wash all the nonsense and greed away, leaving only community and truth. Let's do this....

End Earmarks. Clean-up legislation and remove the temptation to be corrupt or to be corrupted. If legislation is good it should pass on it's own merits. Good legislation should not be used to attach bad legislation to it. Clean-up Government, the people have had enough with abuse and lip service, hence the Occupy and 99% movements among other voices beginning to speak-up. Return government to the people where it belongs.

The Washington Post recently published a report on how members of Congress used earmarks to apparently benefit themselves. According to the story... (http://wapo.st/AuMfyZ)

33 members directed more than $300 million in earmarks and other public works spending near their own properties and businesses, increasing the value of their own property 16 members sent tax dollars to companies, colleges, or community programs where their spouses, children, or parents work as salaried employees or serve on boards.

But that's just a smidgeon. In 2010 there were 11,320 total earmarks worth $32 billion.

That's the equivalent of mugging my family for $300!

Is using earmarks for personal financial gain corrupt? Of course.

Is using earmarks to "bring jobs to the District" and buy votes corrupt? Definitely.

But these outcomes are to be expected, because the REAL corruption is your refusal to follow the Constitution. After all, EVERY bill with earmarks must be passed by a majority in both the House and the Senate.

If you just upheld your oath of office, we would be taxed lightly and the budget could be easily balanced. The limited, enumerated powers of Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution are there for a reason. It lists what Congress CAN do. The Tenth Amendment is also there for a reason. It says Congress CAN'T do anything except what the Constitution authorizes it to do.

I've looked in the Constitution, and I see NO delegation of power to Congress or the Executive Branch to give some communities...

bike lanes
bus terminals
"scenic byways"
traffic circles

Are these things useful to the communities that receive them? Maybe. But if states or local communities wouldn't have built them without federal dollars, then they weren't a high priority. Where does the Constitution allow Congress to meddle in local decision-making? Why am I being required to pay for them?

Perhaps $32 billion for earmarks doesn't sound like much in an era of $4 trillion budget and $1.5 trillion deficits. But they are indicative of the larger problem. Building bike lanes for preferred constituents demonstrates that Congress that knows no restraint -- including the limitations of the Constitution.

That's why it's not surprising that Congress has...

bankrupted the nation by providing pensions and healthcare for retirees, weakened the nation with undeclared wars and foreign aid, told us what foods and drugs we are "permitted" to ingest, and authorized the President and military to kidnap anybody with the NDAA indefinite detention provisions.

None of these things were authorized by the Constitution. NDAA clearly violates it.

If Congress can't follow the Constitution on the little things like earmarks, I'm not surprised that you don't follow it on the big things.

Uphold your oath of office. Follow the Constitution. That means, don't authorize earmarks and other pork-barrel spending. Just stop the petty meddling and vote buying you're doing with my money.

NOTE: Lots of things compete for your support. How do you manage them all?

Here are two simple ideas, taken from the world of investment. First, diversify. Second, think long-term.

1) You can invest your activist dollars in several different aspects of the market: Think tank research. Public education. Political candidates. Direct action.

2) Weight your budget based on effectiveness and long-term value. Political campaigns draw a lot of energy, but they won't be here next year. And even if your guy wins, he'll need an activist army at his back.

Now, can you see why diversifying is so important?

DownsizeDC.org offers a simple idea. Give $1, each month. That would definitely fit in your portfolio! If every subscriber gave DownsizeDC.org $1 per month, on average, then DownsizeDC.org's budget would increase by more than 40%. That would fund a whole bunch of new outreach and speed the growth of your Downsize DC Army!

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Stop the Pipeline Drilling in the Arctic, Keystone XL, and cuts to public transportation, all in the same bill. Call your Representative today. Take Action

You did it -- chalk another one up to the grassroots!

In less than 24 hours, dozens of environmental and progressive groups came together to send 500,000 emails to the Senate against the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline. It worked -- Congress heard from nearly 800,000 Americans, from all 50 states.

This is huge. After feeling that grassroots pressure, the Senate has postponed the Keystone XL vote for the second time this month. But there's an even worse bill in the House of Representatives up for a vote this month -- and it's up to you to make sure the House feels the same pressure the Senate did.

H.R. 7 could be the worst environmental bill we see all year. Call your Representative today and let them know: Valentine's Day is over. No more sweetheart deals for Big Oil.

House Republicans are using crucial transportation legislation to push through not just Keystone XL but also drilling in the pristine Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, deep cuts to public transportation and safe biking and walking programs, and attacks on bedrock environmental protections.

Instead, this legislation should be about giving Americans clean transportation choices that move us beyond oil -- a dirty fuel that spills out of pipelines and wells, threatens our national security, and contributes more to climate change and smog than any other fossil fuel.

It's true that Big Oil has millions of dollars to spend lobbying the Hill. But we have 1.4 million supporters and members -- and as we've seen time and time again, when we stand together, voices can speak louder than money.

Call your Representative today and tell them: Vote no on every title in the House transportation bill.

Calling your Representative is easy. We'll give you their phone number and some basic talking points you can use at the link above. The whole process takes less than three minutes, and you can make a huge difference.

Thanks for all you do to protect our environment,

Sarah Hodgdon Sierra Club Conservation Director

P.S. After you take action, be sure to forward this alert to your friends and colleagues! Share this page on FacebookShare this page on TwitterShare this page with other services

Ha,that's a joke. You don't care about them,you voted for Obama who is robbing " kids and grand kids" future's. Fracking will be the least of their worries. Obama has fucked this country over so bad as to preclude our children and grand children from ever achieving the once great "American Dream".

I ask why Chevron, Halliburton, Exxon and others are allowed to pollute water supply while the citizens receive hardly any benefit and you respond with whining about Obama? Why are you avoiding the question posed and putting out a red herring?

Holy cow. What a solution you've come up with from listening to AM radio! Instead of converting to a sustainable economy, you're going to insist the ship continue to steer towards the iceberg as though we have no control over the ship. And you are oddly willing to take everyone down with the ship. You're willing to trade the future health of generations of your offspring and mine in order to continue living your lifestyle as a gas guzzling consumer. Well guess what? You don't get to make that decision for the rest of us. Your willful ignorance and lack of regard for other human beings (especially in light of the fact that real and sustainable solutions exist) disqualifies you doing any steering of this ship.

the problem is BOTH PARTIES!!! the dem/rep divide is just a facade to keep us in-fighting and not concentrating on the real problem which is the manipulation of all of us for the benefit of the very few.

Last month's record heat stunned meteorologists. It was the hottest March in U.S. history with an alarming 15,272 daily high temperature records set. Some records were shattered by 20 and even 30 degrees.

EPA Comment Counter Dan. Add your voice. Tell EPA you support limits on carbon pollution from new power plants. EPA One Click Action EPA Comments Message Tom Karl, Director of NOAA's National Climatic Data Center, described it as a "climate on steroids."

This is what climate change looks like.

It's time for our government to act -- and with one click you can deliver that message loud and clear by supporting EPA's proposed rule to limit industrial climate pollution from America's power plants.

We need to generate 100,000 comments before the comment deadline closes 60 days from today.

You can effect change and one click is all it takes today.

The EPA's proposed rule will set the first-ever climate pollution standards for our power sector and will help end dirty energy as we know it.

That's why the Dirty Air Lobby and their allies in Congress are fighting back even before the rule is finalized.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce came out against this rule and suggested it would be defeated in the courts.

And Senator James "Global Warming Is a Hoax" Inhofe (R-OK), the Senate's leading climate denier, has already pledged to fight it through Congressional action.

With your voice and support, we will stand as a united front in support of strong clean air and climate standards.

Tell President Obama to Stand Up to Natural Gas Companies and Protect Our Air!

Take Action!
Take Action!

Right now, the American Petroleum Institute (API) -- an industry group only interested in their bottom line when it comes to fracking -- is waging an eleventh hour battle to weaken air pollution rules for natural gas drilling.

In this year's State of the Union, President Obama made a commitment to protect our communities from fracking pollution. EPA's proposed standards to limit air pollution from fracking are a big first step in protecting our health from the dangerous stew of pollution that fracked wells pour into our air. EPA is about to release those rules, but fracking lobbyists are pulling out all the stops to delay these safeguards and fill them with loopholes.

Tell President Obama to stand up to gas companies and their lobbyists, say no to loopholes, and put the health of our communities first!

Last year, over 156,000 activists like you took action to push for the strongest possible air pollution limits for oil and natural gas drilling, and many of you attended public hearings to make it clear this dirty business needs to clean up its act. Big Oil and Gas have taken this fight to the White House, and we need your help to remind the President what we want -- clean air.

Tell President Obama to stand up to bullying by gas companies and their lobbyists' efforts to weaken safeguards for our public health.

Air pollution from fracking dumps hundreds of thousands of tons of smog-forming chemicals, toxics, and climate-disrupting pollution into our air, and it's getting worse. In rural Wyoming, for example, pollution from natural gas fields is worse than pollution in Los Angeles on the worst air quality days. This has to stop, and EPA's safeguards are needed to begin clearing the air.

Take action to tell President Obama to clean up the dirty business of natural gas fracking.

Thanks for all that you do,

Deb Nardone
Director, Natural Gas Reform Campaign
Sierra Club

P.S. Please share this email with your friends and family. We need their help to beat Big Gas!

The House of Representatives has never, in the history of the United States, repealed and voted down so many laws that aim to help our environment. Businessweek is calling it "the most anti-environment" Congress in history.

Last year, the House's anti-environmental motions reached a total of 191 times! It's time to speak up against the anti-environment extremists in Congress who are assaulting our right to breathe clean air, drink safe water, and enjoy a healthy environment.»

Environmental degradation is directly tied to health concerns. Congress needs to know that not only are they endangering our environment, they are endangering our health and our future.

Partisan squabbles are playing politics with issues that, for us, are truly a matter of life or death. At the rate our government is rejecting environmental protections, we soon may not have the power to be able to even make such decisions--the irreversible damage will already have been done.

This I believe would also be useful outreach/education on leaflets for handout at marches. A positive message that anyone and everyone can recognize and agree with and support. I wonder if anyone has considered the bell ringer approach of the Salvation Army, going to public places and handing-out information.